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Instruments
Laying down the Timbales during the
recording of SALSA FEELING, London
Here are the instruments I use, and some background information relating to them:-
Timbales
(LP Tito Puente Model, Steel shells, 14 & 15 inch)
- JCR timbale Bell, JCR cha-cha bell, (JCR is an independent manufacturer of high quality cowbells and timbales situated in Ogden Avenue, the Bronx, NY near Yankee Stadium)
- LP Jam Block.
- Sabian 18 inch "El Sabor" cymbal.
- Zildjan "Mark Quinones" sticks.
The timbal is an instrument of cuban origin, descended from the timpani which were used in the orquesta tipica and the orchestras which played the genre known as danzon. Much of what the timbal does in salsa music comes from danzon:- marking time, accentuating certain musical events(e.g." breaks"), and using various percussive effects to lend colour and excitement. And from the 1940's, the timbal began to adopt some of the role of the drumset in jazz music - making "punches" with the brass and using the cymbal to "ride" behind horn solos. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the music recorded by Machito and his Afro-Cubans in NY from the 1940's onward. In fact, during these early years, the roles of the drumset and the timbal were virtually indistinguishable.
Bongos
I play a customized set made from the shells from a set of original Cuban bongos and the metal rims and hardware from a Natal set (Natal is a British manufacturer of congas and bongos). I got the heads in Peru and fitted them myself. I use a JCR bongo bell.
Congas
These are original LP fibre-glass made in NJ (11 and 3/4 and 12 and a 1/2 inch). The heads were also obtained in Peru.
Drum Kit
Remo "Legero". Assorted Avedis/Zildjian cymbals.
Playing the Cajon with friends
and family, Lima, Peru 2000
Cajón (Peruvian box-drum)
This is a custom made instrument I had made for me in Lima, Peru by a cajón-maker. The dimensions and construction are those used in the making of the cajón for the afro-peruvian music. The cajón is essential to, and a large part of the essence of, the afro-peruvian musical tradition. The cajón is also used in cuban rumba, but here different sizes are used to more or less reflect the different sizes of conga drum (in rumba, conga drums are more usually heard) and the parts assigned to each cajón similarly reflect the different conga parts. The cajón is now also widely used in flamenco music and certainly a lot to the music, but despite what people might tell you, the cajónes used in that tradition are of peruvian provenance. It happened like this......in the early seventies Paco de Lucia saw a performance of a well-known peruvian singer who was touring in Spain. With the band was renowned cajonero Caitro Soto. Sr de Lucia was so taken with the instrument that Caitro presented him with a cajón. Paco then started using the instrument in his band, and the use of the cajón in flamenco and its' related fusions starts from there. I play the cajón and other instruments with the band Manos Negras, which performs a repertoire of music from the coastal region of Peru, including the afro-peruvian tradition.
Jimmy Le M
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- Jimmy
Le M and La Clave De Londres - SALSA BAND -
